A prominent Sacramento area Muslim leader says he expects the death of Osama bin Laden to usher in a new, positive era of U.S. - Muslim relations.

Imam Abdul-Azeez is the spiritual leader of the SALAM Islamic
Center in Sacramento.

He says the worshipers at his mosque are relieved that bin
Laden's been killed and believe his death comes at a crucial time
for the Middle East.

"That's what I have heard actually from a bunch of people. It is
time for us to put the guilt of 9/11 behind our back now that the
greatest perpetrator of that evil has been brought to justice. And
it's time for us to move on into a new era. The Middle East is
democratizing, there will be economic development, possibly in less
than a decade we'll have a better world."

Azeez says bin Laden's death doesn't mean terrorism will stop.He
says more work needs to be done to rid the world of the roots that
caused someone like bin Laden to thrive.

On Monday afternoon, representatives of the Sacramento's
SALAM Center and the muslim community remarked on the news of Osama
Bin Laden's death.